Alex's face lit up instantly when he recognized him.
'Isn't that Claremont?' he thought.
Although this old man was the highest-ranking collaborator in the club, he always liked to involve himself in everything and was never truly loyal to the group.
At this moment, after seeing Andre and the others, he probably realized that Pete's faction was about to fall, and the silver wand had completely lost faith in him.
"Just confess everything clearly!" Andre said firmly.
He recognized the man; after all, he had been present when Claremont made that fake confession before, so he had a good idea of what the man was thinking.
Andre spoke generously, "No problem, as long as the information you give is accurate. Though, it might not be enough to erase the crimes you've committed."
Upon hearing Andre's offer, it wasn't Claremont who reacted first but the other cooperating wizards.
Once they realized there was still a chance for redemption, they hesitated to betray their former leader.
But after Moody's earlier actions, their loyalty to the club had completely vanished.
They began shouting desperately at Andre and the other Aurors, trying to become tainted witnesses themselves.
Watching this, Andre and the others couldn't help but be amused, wondering what Moody had done to turn them so quickly against one another.
The Silver Wand were already on the brink of collapse, and Andre and Alex didn't mind adding more pressure.
After a brief glance between them, they agreed to the requests.
But their main priority now was to get these wizards out of prison and properly settled.
Moody seemed almost addicted to playing the villain, his ruthless treatment of these people was shocking.
Thanks to their magical training, the group of wizards was far stronger than ordinary people.
Yet, they looked pale and exhausted, many suffering from illnesses due to the terrible hygiene and harsh conditions.
Alex and the others also discovered ten cooperating wizards who had been brainwashed into fools.
Honestly, even Alex hadn't expected Moody's methods to be so cruel.
Initially, he planned to fake brainwashing with just two or three people, but Moody had not only doubled that number but also publicly executed some.
His methods were harsher than those of the real villains themselves.
Seeing the situation made Alex a bit uneasy, surely Moody hadn't taken up some strange hobby on his own, right?
Because of that, Andre and Edmond put extra thought into how to handle these people carefully.
First, they moved everyone in groups to the Schmidt family manor.
Ordinary civilian wizards and Muggles were sent straight through the Floo network via the fireplace, while cooperative wizards were escorted in batches by Aurors using Apparition to prevent any chance of escape due to fear of being accused.
Transporting everyone took nearly two hours, and once they arrived at the manor, the real work began.
The first step was to clean everyone up, provide fresh clothes, and check their health.
Anyone who was sick was separated and sent to a special medical area to rest and recover.
Those in better health were placed in shared rooms, and at the same time, they made sure to prepare plenty of nutritious food.
These people had been locked up for so long, eating the same limited food, their nutrition was seriously lacking.
The cooperative wizards were kept separately since they were still suspects and needed constant supervision to avoid any trouble.
Fortunately, Alex and the others had planned well.
They had enough food, daily supplies, medicines, and other essentials. There was no shortage of resources.
Edmund also showed genuine commitment this time.
Not only had he cooperated earlier, but he now offered the largest manor.
In the family for their use.
Even though hundreds of people filled the manor all at once, it at least gave them a place to stay.
Compared to the original grim prison, the Schmidt family manor was like a paradise.
In terms of staffing, the dozens of Aurors in the Law Enforcement Department weren't enough to care for and guard so many people.
So Edmund called in a large number of family members to help; several house elves, members of vassal families, and direct relatives all joined in.
At the same time, Edmund reached out to several other wizarding families with seats in the Wizengamot.
These families usually acted alongside the Schmidt family, making them trusted political allies ready to support the efforts.
Edmund wanted first to understand and sympathize with everyone's situation, making sure he knew where each person stood in the whole incident.
At the same time, he hoped to borrow some help from them.
Although there was a bit of confusion while organizing everyone, in the end, everything settled smoothly.
Just then, Andre and Alex arrived at the cafeteria on the first floor, which had been set up for the wizards who looked like refugees.
As they watched these people eagerly devouring the rich food, they quickly spotted someone who stood out to them, Claremont.
Contrary to the tired, defeated man they had seen in prison, Claremont was full of energy, even more lively than many young people as he reached for the food.
As Alex had predicted, the old man had crossed paths with Moody before.
With a sly grin, Alex turned to Andre beside him and said, "It's time we had a showdown with him."
Andre nodded in agreement.
"Given the situation, cooperating with us is his only option. I believe Claremont knows what to do."
Without waiting, Andre stepped forward, abruptly interrupting Claremont's meal, and dragged him to an empty room in the manor, regardless of his protests.
Claremont felt a wave of nervousness creeping in.
He assumed Andre had summoned him to extract details about the silver wand.
After all, Claremont had boasted in prison about knowing many club secrets.
But the problem was, despite his knowledge, he was bound by a strict confidentiality agreement with the club.
Even Pete, the Golden Snidget, couldn't reveal much.
Most of the evidence-worthy memories had already been handed over to Golden Snidget, who would surely destroy anything incriminating.
In that sense, Claremont wasn't sure if he still held any real value to Andre and the others.
To his surprise, Andre didn't press him for information once they were alone.
Instead, he tapped a large, familiar wooden box sitting before Claremont.
"You know these, don't you?"
Andre smiled teasingly.
"Don't just stare, aren't these your masterpieces?"
Claremont was stunned.
"This can't be..." he murmured, his eyes fixed on the box.
Tentatively, he knelt and lifted the lid with shaking hands.
Inside lay the memories he had painstakingly preserved over the years.
"Impossible..." Claremont's face twisted in disbelief as he stared at the memory bottles.
Then, looking up at Andre, he asked, "I only shared these with King Snidget. How did you get them?"
As he pieced together the events in his mind, a realization began to dawn on him.